F-M Board of Education sets tax levy

Most Fayetteville-Manlius School District residents will see their 2012 tax rate increase 1.77 percent compared to the 1.95 increase projected by the district and approved by voters May 15.

At its Aug. 27 meeting, the Fayetteville-Manlius Board of Education adopted the 2012 tax levy – the amount of revenue to support the budget raised through school taxes. Due to changes in assessed property value and equalization rates, the final tax rates for all five towns within the district differ slightly from the rates estimated at the time of the budget vote, which is not unusual.

District officials adopted a levy of $53,498,698. Using that figure, administrators in May had estimated that residents in the town of Manlius, which makes up 80 percent of the district, would see a tax rate increase of 1.95 percent and a corresponding tax rate of $25.08 per $1,000 of assessed value. The 1.77 percent increase established Aug. 27 for Manlius has a corresponding tax rate of $25.03 per $1,000 of assessed value.

The decrease is due to assessment increases in the towns of Cazenovia, Manlius and Pompey and increases in the equalization rate for the town of Pompey and Cazenovia. The overall assessment in the town of Pompey increased by $33,588,790, or 10.95 percent, which helped the overall tax rate to increase less than what was estimated.

The final tax rates for the other four towns within the district are $25.04 per $1,000 of assessed value for town of Pompey property owners; $29.46 per $1,000 of assessed value in the town Cazenovia; $29.46 per $1,000 of assessed value in the town of Sullivan property owners; and $25.04 per $1,000 of assessed value in the town of DeWitt.